The present invention relates to the art of ticketing material by pinning, and more particularly to the preparation of tickets for attachment as by printing. The invention provides a machine including a number of stages which cooperate to advance, print, sever, and attach tickets, the resulting imprinted tickets being readable both by machine and the user.
The assignee of the present invention has been engaged for a number of years in the manufacture of machines for pinning tickets to articles. The machines have primarily resulted from the inventions of Carl A. Flood, as reflected in a number of U.S. patents (e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,954,287, 1,980,577; 2,042,888; 2,083,150; and 2,914,768). The pinning machine design disclosed in the most recent of these patents includes a pin-bending mechanism for crimping the pointed end of a pin transversely to the surface of a ticket, and features accurate pin-supporting devices which are deployed during insertion of a pin through ticket and article. The design includes a vertically movable anvil for presenting an article to the pinning area, as well as apparatus for feeding pins and driving them through the ticket and article. No one has significantly improved on the pinning machine designs of Flood during the intervening years.
The stages prior to attachment of the ticket, however, have undergone a number of developments in machine design. Many of these developments have reflected the recent trend towards producing tickets which may be read both by machine and by the user, which mandates more rigorous requirements in devices for inking and imprinting the tickets. When items are to be imprintable with many different kinds of characters which can be encountered in practice, the imprinter must be compatible with a wide variety of formats. Where machine readable characters are required, a clarity and quality of printing is required which has not been attainable with traditional imprinters. Serial No. 022,566, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses apparatus for the precision imprinting of articles with prescribed coding formats for machine readable characters.
In designing a machine which combines the functions of imprinting tickets and pinning them onto articles, there are a number of considerations in achieving a satisfactory machine design from the point of view of the user. It is desirable that the machine be as compact as possible, which imposes severe constraints on the layout of functional devices as well as on the design of a power train for operating these devices. Specific requirements of such a machine are that it be compatible with a variety of ticket stocks, that it feed, imprint, and pin these tickets efficiently and safely, and that it be designed in an economical manner, with a minimum of expensive mechanisms.
A functional area of such a machine which is particularly prone to operational difficulties is that of supplying and feeding ticket stock and severed tickets. It is desirable that the machine design minimize the problems of inertia and drag in feeding the ticket stock. Additionally, the apparatus should reduce problems associated with the return cycle of the feed mechanisms. The apparatus should have the capacity to engage and feed tickets without tearing, consistent with efficient operation.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a machine design for a ticket imprinter-pinner which is compact and economical. A related object of the invention is the achievement of a machine layout which efficiently accomplishes the various functions required in imprinting and pinning tickets. It is another related object to combine or juxtapose the various functional assemblies to the greatest extent possible in order to achieve a compact design. A further related object is the avoidance of expensive mechanisms in the machine design.
Another object of the invention is the provision of ticket feed apparatus which is compatible with high speed operation while handling a variety of ticket stocks. It is desirable that such apparatus minimize inertial and drag effects in supplying and feeding tickets. A specific object is the alleviation of the problem of "pull back". Another related object is the provision of ticket transport apparatus which handles tickets and ticket stock with minimal risk of damage to the tickets.